Foot-supporting means



Feb- 19, 1952 H. c. KNELLwoLF FOOT SUPPORTING MEANS Filed Aug. 4. 1947Patented Feb. 19, 1952 Hans Csar Knellwolf, Zurich, SwitzerlandApplication August 4, 1947, Serial No. 765,981

In Switzerland May 13, 1947 (Cl. Sti-71) 4 Claims.

The progressive deterioration of the condition of the human feet has ledto the creation of innumerable defensive and correcting means. Bysupporting insets and so called health shoes it has been attempted topreserve the required faculty of walking and standing of the foot, or torestore it. The fact that the individual bones of the foot skeleton areheld together by the strength of its muscles and ligaments and thataccordingly a deformation f the foot can only be caused by the weakeningof these ligament tissues has brought science to realize that anartioial support without simultaneous invigoration of the ligamenttissues cannot be the right way. On the contrary, it has been provedthat by the more or less rigid support ofthe foot arch the foot musclesin particular are hampered in their activity and are consequentlygradually weakened. Therefore, the method applied over many years in thetreatment of foot diseases was quite unsound in that it further damagedthe weakened tissues of the foot by preventing the necessary work of thefoot. This has led to making a foot-suffer more and more dependent onhis foot supports and even incapable of walking at all without this aidafter some time, the foot being gradually weakened by the preventedmuscle activity and requiring a still higher and more rigid support. Y

Of course, a badly sunken foot cannotl be healed simply by musclegymnastics but has to be brought into its normal position by a supportfirst. A therapeutical success will, however, be possible only if thesupporting means does not hamper the activity of the muscles securingthe foot arches but, on the contrary, strongly stimulates such activity.

The most important tensile tissues of the foot arch are the nexormuscles of the toes, particularly those of the big toe. Consequently, inthe interest of an invigoration of the foot arch the free unhamperedactivity particularly of these muscles has to be preserved. The hithertousual foot supports, while shoring-up the foot arch, have subjected themuscles of the foot sole at the same time to a strong pressure, and havethereby hampered their mobility to a great extent. The consequence hasbeen a gradual muscle atrophy and therefore a forcible weakening of thefoot. v

With the object of removing the existing drawbacks the present inventionprovides a device in the form of a shoe inset, sole or the like whichfulfills the double task of supporting the foot and at the same timeinvigorating the same,

The device comprises a resilient bridge in the range of the outer recessof the balls of the foot (transverse planar arch) which raises the footthere, prevents it from developing outwards when walking, and forces itto perform a natural developing movement of the foot over the big toe.

By way of example four embodiments of the invention are shown on theaccompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows, as the first embodiment, a ladys shoe with the devicebuilt-in as a shoe inset, in lateralview and longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sole of the shoe.

Fig. 3 shows, as a second embodiment, the device built-in between theouter sole and the insole of a shoe, in elevation and in section.

Figs. 4 and 5' show, as a third embodiment, the device as an inset solein longitudinal section and plan view, respectively.

According to the iirst embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the device iscemented on the nsole l of the shoe 2, forming an inset. In a pad 3 aresilient steel plate 4 is inserted into a recess as a bridging meanstherefor, and is covered on its under side by a cover 5 of the sameshape as the pad 3. The cover 5 is cemented with the pad 3 which may,for example, consist 0f rubber. Above the pad 3 and cemented to it thereis a sticky tape E, preferably Aof oilcloth or the like. By means ofthis sticky tape 6, which projects beyond the pad on three sides, thecomponents 3, 4 and 5 are stuck on the insole I of the shoe 2. Thebridging piece, i. e. the resilient steel plate 4, runs approximatelyfrom the outer border portion 8 of the shoe, obliquely, from the smalltoe side of the front portion of the foot towards the big toe side ofthe medium portion of the foot (metatarsus), perpendicularly to thedirection of rolling-nii of the foot over the big toe. Between theinsole l and the cover 5 there is a cavity 1, which is bridged by thesteel plate 4, below the latter, which permits resilient yielding of thebridging piece. The end of the resilient steel plate 4 pointing towardsthe outer border portion 8 lies substantially in the range of the frontmetatarsal `ioint of the small toe. By means of the inset as described aresilient bridging of the outer arch of the ball of the foot is formedwhich raises the foot there in a spring-fashion and thereby prevents arolling movement in the outward direction when walking, thus compellingthe natural tread development of the foot over the big toe. Consequentlythe big toe is stimulated to increased muscular activity and thereby thepower of resistance of the foot is invgorated.

As shown in Fig. 3 a cushion Il), which is equipped with a steel plate9, is embedded between the outer sole II and the insole I2 of the shoeI3.

The inset sole according to Figs. 4 and 5 consists of a sole proper I4'which may be covered by sheet material if desired. In the range of theouter ball of the foot a pad-like support I5 is cemented to the lowersurface of this sole I 4. The latter again comprises as a bridging piecean embedded resilient steel plate I6 which runs obliquely inwards andbackwards as in the first embodiment. The sole I 4 is covered on itsunder side by a soft sole I'I which makes the tread pleasant and servesas a protection against the device sliding within the shoe. In the heelportion of the sole I4 there is a cut-out I8 which has a cuneiform shapewith the point directed towards the small toe. The edge portion thereofis sharpened so that a bed I9 for the human heel vis formed true toshape which may be open, or, as shown, covered by the soft sole I'I. Inaddition to the springing of the ball of the foot, a pleasant relief tothe heel is afforded by means of the heel cushion of the device. By thepointed shape of the heel bed and/or by the cut-out I 8 an obliquetransversely directed rising slope for the slight lifting of the sunkenheel bone is achieved. Due to the applied soft sole I1, the edgeportions of the cut-out I8 cannot tilt up should they get brittle due toperspiration.

In all the embodiments the resilient bridging of the recess in the ballof the foot can of course be effected, instead of by a resilient steelplate, alternatively by VVmeans of covered short torsion springsarranged-'obliquely in line, or by a piece of more or less resilientfilling material.

For the purpose of raising the resilient bridging the steel plate may bebowed or arched. I claim:

1. In a shoe, `in combination, a sole having outer and inner side edges,a substantially at front portion, an inclined shank portion and acurved-soleportion located between Vsaid front portion and said shankportion, merging into the same, and having a concave upper face, aresilient-flat, supporting strip located across said concave upper faceof said curved sole portion andY having opposite ends supported by saidsole, one of said ends being located adjacent said outer side edge ofsaid sole in the region where said curved sole-portion merges into Saidflat front portion and the" other of said ends being locatedsubstantially centrally between said side edges of said sole in theregion where said curved sole portion merges into said inclined shankportion, so that said fiat supporting strip extends diagonally over saidcurved sole portion and bridges the same; and a flexible cover sheetlocated over said concave upper face of said curved sole portion andsaid resilient supporting strip, said exible cover sheet extending overa greater area than said curved sole portion so as to rest against saidfront and shank portions of said sole.

2. A substantially iiat, elongated shoe insert, comprising incombination, a flexible non-metallic top sheet having inner and outerside edges. a rear heel portion, a front end portion, and anintermediate shank portion; a resilient, at, supporting strip locatedagainst the under face of said flexible top sheet and having one endthereof located adjacent said outer side edge of said top sheet andhaving the opposite end thereof located substantially centrally betweensaid side edges of said top sheet, said one end of said strip beinglocated nearer to the front end of said top sheet than said opposite endof said strip and said 'opposite end of said strip being located in theregion where said front end portion of said top sheet merges into saidshank portion; and a flat, iiexible, non-metallic cover member locatedagainst the under face of said top sheet, covering said iiat, supportingstrip and being secured around the same to the under face of said topsheet.

3. A shoe insert as defined in claim 2, said shoe insert furthercomprising a flexible non-metallic bottom sheet of a softer materialthan said top sheet, of substantially the same configuration as said topsheet, being joined to the latter against the under face thereof andcovering said flexible cover member.

4. A shoe insert as defined in claim 3, said top sheet being formed withan opening passing through said rear heel portion thereof and saidbottom sheet being exposed through said opening so as to provide arecess to support the heel of the user of the insert.

' HANS CsAR KNELLWOLF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 815,897 Arrowsmith Mar. 20, 1906892,652 Dahlmann July "I, 1908 918,101 Toporczer Apr. 13, 1909 1,701,252Ahern Feb. 5, 1929 1,728,780 Burns Sept. 17, 1929 1,841,942 Fenton Jan.19, 1932 1,960,418 Schaller May 29, 1934 1,996,215 Sabiston Apr. 2, 19352,095,532 Rigandi Oct. 12, 1937 2,193,704 Vaughn Mar. 12, 1940 2,207,165Seigle July 9, 1940

